Full Answer
How much will the Equifax settlement pay out?
Consumers hurt by the 2017 Equifax data breach could be eligible for up to $20,000 in compensation and up to 10 years of free credit monitoring under a half-billion dollar settlement between the credit agency and the Federal Trade Commission.
Where do I get emails about the Equifax breach settlement?
Legitimate emails about the settlement will come from Equifax Breach Settlement Administrator < [email protected] >. The settlement administrator also recently sent emails and letters to people who filed valid claims requesting free credit monitoring services from the settlement.
What happened to Equifax?
In September of 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. The company has agreed to a global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 U.S. states and territories.
How can I get a free Equifax credit report?
The confirmation page provides a phone number and engagement number to get free help with identity restoration. All U.S. consumers can now get 7 free Equifax credit reports per year through 2026 by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. When will I get my benefits? How will I get my benefits?
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How much will Equifax settlement be?
$425 millionEquifax will pay up to $425 million in restitution to those directly impacted by the massive data breach of the credit bureau in 2017. A federal court gave final approval to the class-action lawsuit settlement in mid-January.
Is there a class action lawsuit against Equifax?
In 2017, hackers broke into Equifax in a breach that exposed the financial information of 147 million Americans. A federal court in 2020 approved a $380 million settlement of class actions lawsuits, with no finding or judgment of wrongdoing made.
What happened to the Equifax payout?
Equifax denied any wrongdoing and no judgment or finding of wrongdoing was made. If you are a Class Member, the deadline to file Initial Claims Period claim(s) for free credit monitoring or up to $125 cash payment and other cash reimbursement passed on January 22, 2020. The Settlement is now effective.
How do I know if I get Equifax settlement?
Status of financial reimbursement For more details and to check your claim status, visit EquifaxBreachSettlement.com . If you were affected by the Equifax data breach, you can still claim financial reimbursement for costs you incurred, or time you spent dealing with fraud or identity theft, after January 22, 2022.
What happened to the Equifax lawsuit?
In 2019, Equifax paid a $575 million settlement to the federal government after a hack compromised the private records of nearly 150 million Americans. In 2020, the U.S. government charged four Chinese citizens in the hack; China has denied involvement.
Did anyone get money from Equifax?
After a data breach in 2017 exposed personal data of more than 147 million consumers, including in some cases Social Security and driver's license numbers, credit bureau Equifax agreed to pay hundreds of millions in compensation to help affected consumers.
How much can you get from a data breach settlement?
The settlement includes up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach. The initial deadline to file a claim in the Equifax settlement was January 22, 2020.
Can I go to Equifax in person?
Equifax Phone number: While Equifax's official customer service phone number is 1-800-846-5279, I found the easiest path to reach a real human is to call this number: 1-866-640-2273. How to reach a real person: Press 4, then press 1.
What is Experian data breach?
Once again, we see another major data breach – this time it's the credit-checking firm Experian who has been hacked, exposing the details of 15 million consumers who applied for T-Mobile USA postpaid services between Sept. 1, 2013 and Sept.
What is Equifax phone number?
(888) 378-4329Equifax / Customer service
How do I file a claim on Facebook?
There are two ways to submit this claim form to the Settlement Administrator: (a) online on this page; or (b) by U.S. Mail to the following address: Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
The Equifax settlement options
The Equifax settlement provides two compensation options for everyone affected: 10 years of free credit monitoring or a cash payout of up to $125.
Should you choose cash or credit monitoring?
Here's the problem with taking the cash -- the fund for this alternative reimbursement only has $31 million available. That money will be divided between everyone who chooses the cash payout, which means if too many people choose this option, the payout amounts will be reduced.
Additional compensation
Whether you take the cash or credit monitoring, the settlement also allows you to claim compensation for time spent or unreimbursed out-of-pocket losses you suffered that can be traced back to the data breach.
How to file a claim
The settlement administrator has created an Equifax data breach settlement site where you can read more about it and file your claim.
Getting the most value from the Equifax settlement
When news of the Equifax settlement first broke, it wasn't clear that the cash settlements could be reduced, so there was plenty of talk about "claiming your $125". Based on the number of people who have already filed, the cash payout won't amount to much.
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About the Author
Lyle is a writer specializing in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. His work has also appeared on MSN Money, USA Today, and Yahoo! Finance.
How much was the Equifax settlement?
The $700 million Equifax settlement is a landmark moment for consumer data privacy, but if you're counting on a payoff, you'll probably be disappointed. While we won't know how much victims will be paid until after the settlement's application deadline--January 2020--early signs haven't been promising.
How much was set aside for the FTC?
Only $31 million was set aside for the payment pool, which would pay only 248,000 people if everyone received the full $125. Because the reimbursement payments will be paid equally to everyone in the pool, the actual payment will likely be a fraction of the advertised amount. More than 4.5 million people visited the official settlement website in the week after the deal was announced, the FTC said.
For Those Affected by the Equifax Security Breach
Consumers affected by the Equifax Security Breach are eligible for at least 10 years of free credit monitoring service, plus at least 7 years of identity restoration, also for free, if you are a victim of identity theft. If you choose to use a different credit monitoring service, you could be reimbursed up to $125 for that cost.
What You Need to Do to Access Benefit from the Equifax Settlement
A series of deadlines have been set up for filing claims or opting out of the Equifax Settlement. The first deadline actually is for those who wish to opt out of the settlement, which leaves you free to pursue your own lawsuit against the company should you so choose. The opt-out deadline is Nov. 19, 2019.
Equifax Settlement: Bottom Line
We want to see everyone remaining financially safe and sound, so we encourage you to check to see if you have been affected by the Equifax security breach and if you are entitle to an Equifax settlement. Those affected should be prepared to file their claims for monetary damages by the Jan.
Settlement deadline and claim verification
Don’t miss this deadline if you incurred provable out-of-pocket losses or if you want free credit monitoring — these are probably the two actual benefits you can expect. The earliest you will receive them will be January 23, 2020.
Settlement option to opt-out
This section of the email explains how to opt-out but not why to opt-out. Opt-out if you may want to file your own lawsuit against Equifax at some point — you can’t be part of the class-action suit and also file another suit.
